Careers In Printing & Publishing: Courses, Colleges, Jobs

Publishing professionals could find a job in many private publishing houses or in the publication department of organizations that undertake their own publishing requirements. Many central and state government agencies such as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and of Education and Culture, also have their own publication divisions.

Do you love books more than anything else in the world? Is reading your favourite pastime? Then, a career in publishing and printing is tailor-made for you. You will get to read a plethora of books, but not just that, you will also get to help them get published and help new authors be discovered. You will get to see how a book is made, from inception to its final print.

What is the job of a publisher?

A publishing job entails looking over worthy manuscripts and taking charge of the designing, printing and marketing of the content. The publishing process can be clearly divided into: editorial, designing, production, advertising and marketing.

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Newspapers and periodicals are the biggest sectors where publishing professionals are in demand. Since, speed is of utmost importance here, professionals who are competent in printing technology are hired to make sure everything runs like clockwork.

Other than newspaper presses, book printers have the task of publishing books with high quality binding. Other than that, artwork is also printed and can be a good printing job for those interested in the artistic scheme of things.

Publishing and Printing Eligibility Criteria

If you are proficient in English, you can start off as an apprentice right after your class 12 examinations. You will be paid a stipend as you will be hired on contract directly by the press.

Apprenticeship courses are also available in government and commercial presses. You need to have passed the 8th standard or be above the age of 14 to be eligible to have a printing career. The course can be anywhere between 2 to 3 years, depending on the press.

For entry into a publishing house a publishing career, you need to have a graduate degree in any discipline. In addition to proficiency in English, you also need to know how to edit content.

Government organisations are also involved in publishing content—these are the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the Sahitya Academy and the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

You also have the option of working for publishing houses that are run by public trust funds such as Children’s Book Trust, NCERT or the National Book Trust. Universities and academic institutions also bring out published works where you could apply. If you are interested in joining the publishing world, you have the option of joining a commercial press, a government press, a newspaper office or a publishing house.You also have the option of becoming a freelancer, but it would require a lot of motivation on your part.

Publishing and Printing Pay Package

Initially, this career path will not be a lucrative deal for you as the starting publishing salary will only be between Rs 8000 to Rs 15000. However, if you stick around and you have talent, you can do very well in this field.